that same choice. What do you want, kitten? Do you want to come out for lunch with us?”
“More than anything,” Sando whispered, his throat tight and his eyes growing moist. “But I can’t. Don’t you see that spending time with you only makes it worse? It reminds me of what I had, of what I lost…of what I can’t ever have again. Being with you is pure torture because it can’t last. He’ll never allow it.”
A tear meandered down his cheek, and he wiped it off, furious at himself for revealing too much, for speaking ill of his father. He didn’t need to see the shock on Lucan’s face to know the beta knew exactly who Sando had been referring to. Maz stepped closer, and Sando balled his fists to keep himself from launching himself at him. One touch and he’d lose it. He’d break.
Maz raised his chin with his index finger, forcing Sando to meet his eyes. “Go have lunch with Lucan, kitten. I’ll stay with your father.”
Sando’s heart skipped a beat. “Maz, no. He’ll… He won’t accept your presence. He’ll get upset with you, with me. He’ll—”
Maz put a finger on his lips and silenced him. “Go spend time with Lucan. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Everything inside Sando screamed this was a bad, bad idea, but he wanted to be away so desperately, to be with Lucan, to not worry and stress and be scared. And so he gave in. “Okay.”
Maz waited until Sando and Lucan had left, the latter shooting him a look over his shoulder that was filled with both gratitude and concern. Maz understood why because he felt the exact same way. At least they’d managed to lure Sando away for a bit, but what the hell was going on? Why did Sando seem scared of his father? Were things that distressing?
His stomach roiled uncomfortably, as it always did when he knew he was about to face conflict. No matter how much he’d changed and grown, he always had the same reaction. His brain feared things that had happened in the past. It didn’t seem able to understand he wasn’t that little boy anymore, terrified and stressed out from all the yelling and shouting and fighting and arguing. His parents throwing plates and breaking glasses, punching fists through walls and screaming insults at each other, followed by deadly silence that had felt so oppressive it had been hard to even breathe.
He was a grown-ass man now, and he had nothing to fear from another man, let alone a frail, older beta he could technically beat up with one hand tied behind his back. He breathed in deeply, forcing his rational brain to overrule that instinctive panic reaction. Yes, he might be starting a conflict with Melloni, but it wouldn’t hurt him. It wouldn’t affect him the way his parents had. He was safe.
He pushed the front door, which Sando had left ajar, open wider. “Professor Melloni? Can I come in?”
It took a few moments, but then Sando’s father appeared, looking disheveled and confused. “Who are you?”
Maz kept his face blank. “I’m Maz Ahadi, Professor. I work in the clinic as an ob/gyn, remember?”
The confusion on the professor’s face morphed into a guarded expression. “Of course I know who you are. Sorry, I was elsewhere with my mind. I meant to ask what you were doing here.” He frowned. “Where’s Sando?”
“He’s taking a lunch break with Lucan.”
Melloni’s eyes narrowed, but then his face relaxed again. “Good. He works too hard.”
What? Maz felt like he’d stepped into some kind of alternate reality. This didn’t correspond with what Sando had told them at all. “He does work very hard.”
“So, why are you here exactly?”
“Sando thought you might like the company.” It was the best Maz could come up with without getting any closer to the truth.
“Sando thought… Right. Well, since you’re here, would you like me to catch you up on my research? I would think that as a doctor, you’d be interested, especially since you work with so many gene carriers.”
Clearly, the man had seen through his feeble attempt of an excuse, but at least he hadn’t kicked him out or gotten angry. Maz chalked it up as a victory. “I’d appreciate that.”
Melloni gestured him over to a large dining table completely covered in papers, then pointed at a chair. Maz sat down, and Melloni picked up a sheet of paper. “You will be happy to hear that what we’ve been working on is not a heat